Never Say Never
by Megan13
Summary: It's not always over... AU, medschool Maddison


**AN: Just something I put together this week. I haven't had much time to edit, but since I no longer have internet, this is the best I could do. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine...**

* * *

"_Addie, please," Mark begged as he watched her stuff yet another sweater into her bag. "Please. We can talk about this. We can make this w-"_

"_No Mark," she glared at him through her tears, "we can't."_

"_I love you Addison." Mark reached out to her desperately as she zipped the bag and threw it over her shoulder. He flinched when she slapped his arm away and stalked past him. _

"_Yeah?" She yanked open the front door. "Well you should have thought about that before I caught you fucking the TA."_

"_We need to talk about this." He was beginning to panic. "We have to talk about this."_

"_What's there to talk about Mark?" Addison asked as she wiped furiously at the tears trailing down her cheeks. "You cheated on me and now I'm leaving. We will never be together, ever again. End of story."_

"_But I'm sorry." He felt bile rise in the back of his throat. "I love you."_

* * *

**(Three years later)**

"So, when are they supposed to get here?" Mark asked as he pulled off his sweatshirt and threw it over the back of the couch.

Nancy shrugged. "Apparently there was an accident on the highway so it's taking a while longer than expected."

"Oh."

"I talked to her on the phone," Nancy said and followed Mark into the kitchen. "She seemed nice."

"Like Derek would go out with a total bitch." He stuck his head in the fridge and rummaged around until he found a beer. "I bet she's an ugo though."

"Derek doesn't date ugos." Nancy swiped at him. "He dates nice, plain girls who won't break his heart."

"Whatever Nancy-Pants." Mark rolled his eyes.

"Besides, he said he only dates uglies because he knows you won't try to sleep with them," Nancy told him matter-of-factly. "To which I reminded him that you sleep with everyone."

"I have standards."

"Yeah," Nancy scoffed. "Low ones."

"Oh Nancy-Pants, the only one I ever lowered the bar for was you," Mark said sweetly.

"Not cool." Nancy dead-panned before hopping onto the counter. "I just can't believe he's already bringing her home. I mean, they've only been dating for like, two months."

"I know." Mark took a sip of his beer. "I didn't even know he was seeing anyone."

Nancy shrugged. "He said he didn't want to jinx it."

"Ah," Mark nodded knowingly. "He didn't want bad juju."

Nancy looked at him strangely.

"What?"

"Nothing." She shrugged. "It's just that he used those same exact words."

"Juju?"

She nodded. He shrugged.

"Ooh, I think they're here," Nancy said excitedly and craned her neck to see around Mark. "Wow, nice car."

Mark whirled around to find a very familiar black BMW pulling into the driveway. He leaned forward to catch a glimpse of the driver, just as he had done with every black BMW for the past three years, and felt his heart automatically begin to quicken its pace.

"I wish I had a BMW," Nancy whined beside him.

"Yeah," Mark said absently.

He watched as Derek got out of the driver's side, but his view of the passenger was obscured by one of the trees. After a moment of talking over the roof of the car Derek rounded the back and popped open the trunk. By this time Mark was leaning so far forward and to the right that he was almost parallel to the floor. He watched as Derek pulled three suitcases from the trunk, pointed at the house, and led the passenger around to the door.

"What's her name?" Mark asked quietly, catching a hint of red.

"Uhh..." Nancy bit her lip, trying to remember. "Addison something."

Mark felt his knees buckle.

* * *

"I'm fine Nancy," Mark hissed, swatting at her as she tried to help him to his feet. "Leave me alone." 

She held up her hands, happy that she didn't have to help. Truth be told, she wasn't too sure that she wouldn't fall over herself in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "Sorry. Sorry."

Mark rolled his eyes and was still scrambling to his feet as Derek wandered into the kitchen.

"Why were you on the floor?" Derek asked, looking from his sister to his best friend. "Oh man. Tell me you weren't-"

"No," Mark and Nancy yelped at the same time. They'd been there, done that, and neither wanted to experience that awkwardness ever again.

"Mark fell over," Nancy said, giggling at the memory.

Derek gave him a look.

"An old baseball injury," Mark grumbled and wandered over the fridge again.

"You didn't have any baseball injuries," Nancy teased, rolling her eyes. She turned her attention back to Derek. "So? Where is she?"

"She's- Ah, right here." He grinned as Addison rounded the corner to the kitchen. He threw his arm around her shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek before introducing her to his sister. "And Mark's around here somewhere... Mark, get out of there and come meet my girl."

Mark shut his eyes tightly and hesitated before pulling his head out of the refrigerator and turning to them. He watched as Addison's jaw went slack and said softly, "Hey Addie. It's been a while."

* * *

"You two know each other?" Derek asked, confused. 

"We've met," Addison whispered, still reeling from Mark's sudden appearance back in her life. "God am I stupid."

Derek raised an eyebrow.

"He had a Derek, you have a Mark." She took a deep breath. "I can't believe I didn't catch it."

"Wait a minute," Nancy glanced from Mark to Addison and back again. "Did you two date?"

"Briefly," Addison told her.

Mark scoffed.

"Not briefly?" Derek asked, bewildered.

"No," Mark corrected. "Not briefly."

"But you never date a girl for more than a month," Nancy said just before a look of understanding came over her face. "Oh hell. This is her?"

"I'm who?"

"You're _her,_" Nancy told her. "The girl that broke Mark's heart. The girl that caused him to transfer to LA. The girl he's still in love wi-"

"Nancy," Mark barked. "Shut up."

Nancy shrugged, grinning.

"But how come..." Derek really was at a loss for words. "I'm so confused."

"It's nothing to worry about Derek," Addison said, not taking her eyes off of Mark. "It was over a long time ago."

* * *

"Mark, come downstairs." Nancy poked Mark in the stomach. "Please?" 

"Go away," Mark told her. He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.

"Are you really going to let this girl get you that upset?" Nancy asked. "Seriously?"

"This is not something I want to discuss with you right now," he mumbled.

Nancy frowned. "Are you jealous of Derek?"

Mark flicked her off.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day that Mark Sloan was jealous of Derek Shepard." She chuckled lightly before sighing. "You were lying out of your teeth earlier weren't you?"

He didn't move.

"You're not over her like you told Derek you were, are you? You're totally still in love with her and it killed you to convince him that you're not." Nancy sighed. "You're a damn good actor you know."

Mark shrugged.

"Well maybe there's something we can do," Nancy told him and leaned back to use his butt as a pillow.

Mark turned his head, interest piqued. "Like what?"

"I dunno." Nancy shrugged. "We could always break them up."

"You want to break Derek's precious little heart?" Mark asked.

"It's a crush Mark," Nancy said as if he were stupid. "He'll get over it."

* * *

After an awkward dinner Nancy decided that it was time to put their plan into action. She demanded that they go dancing and two hours later all four of them were piled into Addison's shiny BMW. Mark felt more than awkward in the back seat and felt that Derek, who was driving, was sitting in his rightful position. 

"I'm so thirsty," Nancy whined and turned to Mark. "Chocolate cake shots?"

"Ooh, I love those," Addison interjected. "Mark, do you remember that one birthday when I refused any other shot the whole night?"

"You were trashed." Mark smirked. "I had to carry you home that night."

"And I puked all over your shoes." She smiled softly. "You were so mad."

"Yeah, well remember my birthday?" Derek interrupted.

"You mooned the bartender, got us kicked out, and then puked in the bushes outside my house," Addison said dully. "Then you puked on my floor and my mom had to get the carpet cleaned."

Derek frowned. "Well I had a good time."

* * *

A few hours later Derek was all but passed out in one of the bar's corner booths. Addison had wanted to be the one to take care of him but Nancy had insisted that she would take care of him so that Addison and Mark could continue dancing. After a moment's hesitation, and an encouraging smile from Mark, Addison had agreed and returned to the dance floor. 

"This brings back memories." Mark smiled down at Addison. "We used to go out dancing every weekend."

"Those were the days," Addison agreed. "You were really good about carrying me home and putting me into bed."

"That's what good boyfriends do," Mark told her. He raised his eyebrows. "Does Derek carry you home?"

"There have been a few times." Addison grinned as Mark pulled her closer to him. "But I seem to remember having to get your drunk ass into a cab on multiple occasions."

"And then you'd get me into bed and take advantage of my drunken state." Mark smirked. He leaned forward and whispered, "Although I have to admit that I kinda liked it."

"I know you did." Addison chuckled. "So you're in LA, huh?"

"Yep." He nodded. "I guess I needed a break from the East Coast."

"But you love snow," Addison said matter-of-factly. "There's no snow in LA."

"Wow, nice observation."

She smack him playfully. "Seriously. Why'd you leave?"

"I just needed a change," he said. "I needed to get away from everything. Get a fresh start."

"Get away from me?"

He shrugged.

"I hated seeing you in classes," Addison confessed. "It took everything I had not to drop the ones you were in. And then I expected to see you even more in med school but you just disappeared. I mean, you were so adamant about Columbia. Especially since your best friend was transferring in."

"I adamant about it because you were there," he told her. "And then I was adamant about not going there because I couldn't handle seeing you around campus with other guys."

She let her eyes drop to the floor.

They danced for a while longer in silence before Nancy hurried over to them to explain that Derek had puked on the table and they were being kicked out. Mark rolled his eyes and went to help his friend out of the bar while Nancy and Addison went to pull the car around.

* * *

The next morning Mark woke up without even so much as cotton mouth. He slid his legs over the side of the bed and stretched before he pulled on a pair of boxers and made his way down to the kitchen. He automatically flipped on the coffee maker and sat down to read the paper just as Addison came around the corner. 

"Oh thank God for coffee," she groaned and plopped down in the chair next to him at the tale. She reached her hand out and Mark automatically handed her the funnies. "Derek is such a lightweight."

"Very true." Mark nodded.

"Did you have fun last night?" Addison asked, raising her eyebrows curiously.

Mark flashed her a smile. "I had fun dancing with you."

"That was definitely the highlight of the evening," Addison said softly, blushing.

* * *

"I refuse to ever drink again," Derek moaned that afternoon. "God, what happened last night?" 

"You drank everyone under the table and then puked on it," Nancy said bluntly. "And got us kicked out of Dave's."

Derek glared at her. "Has anyone ever told you that you're the loudest person in the world?"

"Shut up."

"So what's up for tonight?" Addison asked and flipped the station on the television. "Another bar?"

"Oh no," Nancy shook her head. "I have a friend working the door at one of the clubs tonight. We're going all out."

"I'm not going anywhere tonight," Derek moaned. "Baby, would you stay here with me?"

Addison shrugged. "Well I guess I-"

"Oh no. You're going out Miss Forbes-Montgomery," Nancy said, waggling her finger at Addison. "Just because Derek can't hold his liquor doesn't mean we can't have a good time."

Derek glared at his sister.

"Dude, why don't you just suck it up and come with us?" Mark asked, earning himself a warning look from Nancy.

Derek sat back, pouting. "I'll think about it."

* * *

"You want my pickle?" Mark asked seriously over lunch. Since Derek had taken a nap and Nancy had decided that laying out was more important than eating a quality meal, he and Addison had gone for sandwiches at the local deli. "Man, I hope Derek winds up going out with us tonight." 

Addison shrugged.

"What? You don't want him to come out with us?"

"I do." She hesitated. "It's just... Well I had a lot of fun with you last night."

* * *

"He's still out." 

Mark rolled his eyes. "Figures. Would you hand me a drink?"

Addison poured the two of them a margarita each and waded into the pool to where Mark was floating. She handed him the drink and leaned against the float beside him. "Where's Nancy?"

"She went to Ted's for a while," Mark told her.

She nodded knowingly. "Booty call."

"And what would you know about booty calls?" Mark asked, smirking.

"I'll have you know that I've had plenty of booty calls in my life," Addison told him. "I mean, maybe not as many as you but..."

"Addie, never talk to me about your booty calls ever again." Mark nudged her with his shoulder. "It's gross."

"Oh whatever." She rolled her eyes. "You know that you'd kill to be my booty call."

"Duh."

* * *

"Derek, are you sure that you don't want to come?" Addison asked, concerned for her boyfriend. "We can wait a little longer if you've changed your mind." 

"Naw." He shook his head. "You four go on."

"Are you sure?" Mark asked, hoping he wouldn't change his mind any time soon. "It's not the same without you buddy."

"Just watch out for my girl and make sure no one hits on her," Derek said. He paused for a moment. "That includes you."

"Dude..."

Derek raised his eyebrows.

"Don't worry Baby." Addison bent over and kissed Derek's nose. "I won't make out with too many other guys."

Derek growled at her and pressed his lips against hers. "You better not."

"Okay, that's enough," Mark said and tugged at Addison's hand. "Taxi's here. Time to go. See you later buddy. Don't stay up too late."

"Bye Derek." Addison waived as Mark pulled her out the front door. She grinned up at him, excited for the night ahead of them, and skipped slightly. "You know, you don't have to hold my hand. I think I can make it to the car on my own."

"I like holding your hand," Mark told her. He squeezed her fingers. "Besides, I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you."

Addison ducked into the cab, laughing. "Oh, you'll keep your eyes on me alright."

* * *

A half hour later Mark, Addison, Nancy, and her booty call were being let into one of the clubs in the city. Addison looped her arm through Mark's and grinned up at him as he led the way to the bar. Once there he ordered a round of vodka shots. It wasn't until four rounds later that they had made their way to the dance floor. 

"I don't think Derek would approve of this type of dancing," Mark yelled into Addison's ear over the music. He pointed to Nancy and Ted. "And he sure as hell wouldn't approve of that."

"I think they're about to do it right on the dance floor." Addison giggled and wrapped her arms around Mark so that their bodies were flush with each other. "We used to dance like that."

"We used to do a lot of things that we don't do anymore." Mark winked suggestively.

"Would it be bad if I told you I want to do those things with you again?" Addison asked, blushing. "I mean-"

"No," Mark cut her off. "It would be a very good thing."

Addison grinned slyly and ground her pelvis against Mark's. "I think I might still like you a teeny tiny little bit."

Mark nipped her ear. "I think I might like you more than a teeny tiny little bit."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

* * *

"We shouldn't do this," Addison grunted as Mark swiftly set her on the bathroom counter. "_Oh God_. This is a bad idea." 

"You're right." Mark moaned as Addison palmed the front of his jeans. He returned the gesture by sliding his hand under her skirt. "Maybe we should- Ah..." He smashed his lips against hers. " Fuck it."

* * *

The next morning was more than awkward. Mark and Addison tip-toed around each other while the other three house guests were oblivious to the tension. 

"We need to talk," Mark said, pulling Addison into the pool house.

"Mark."

"What happened last night... It was..." Mark licked his lips and swallowed. "I've thought about you every single day for three years. I dream about you every night. I compare every girl I see to you. Addie, I'm just as in love with you today as I was three years ago. I know I've made mistakes and I know you're seeing Derek, but last night meant everything to me."

Addison opened her mouth and then shut it, unsure of how to respond.

"I need you to say something Addison." Mark blinked nervously. "Please say something."

Addison frowned. "I need to pack."

* * *

**(One month later)**

The phone was ringing as Mark threw the last of the boxes into the living room. He looked around for a moment, trying to locate just exactly where the ringing was coming from before spotting it on the dining room table. He hopped over the couch and grabbed the phone just before the machine picked up.

"'Ello."

"Fuck you Mark."

"Derek?"

"Oh don't 'Derek' me. Fuck you."

"Wha-" But before Mark could finish the line went dead. He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a moment. He was debating whether to call his friend back when someone knocked on his new door.

Mark was distractedly staring at the phone in his hand as he pulled back the door. "May I help- Addison?"

"Hi," she said shyly. "Um, can I come in?"

"Sure." Mark pulled the door open and let her duck under his arm. He watched her cross the living room and sit down on the couch, all the while trying to determine if he was dreaming or not. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

"I..." She shook her head slightly and blew out a deep breath through her nose. "Look, you're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I see when I close my eyes at night. When someone asks me about my future, you're the only one I can see in it. Spending time with you last month... I haven't been that happy or felt that way in years."

Mark stepped forward.

"I left Derek," Addison said slowly. "Well, more like he heard me saying your name in my sleep the other night and left me. But I was planning on leaving him anyway so really it doesn't matter who left who in-"

Mark interrupted her by pressing his lips against hers.

"-the end," she finished as he pulled away.

"So this explains that phone call I just received from Derek," Mark chuckled as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"He's mad." She frowned. "I hope that I didn't-"

"He'll get over it," Mark told her. "Just so long as we don't tell him about the bathroom sex."

Addison chuckled. "No, that would probably be a bad idea."

Mark sighed and rested his forehead against Addison's. "So you're sure about this?"

"As long as you stay the hell away from the TA's." She laughed and cupped his neck in her hand. "I haven't been able to get over you in three years Mark. Believe me, I'm sure about this."

Mark grinned. "Never say never, right?"


End file.
